This invention is an apparatus for feeding the output of a stringed musical instrument back to a person, usually the player. The apparatus is inexpensive to make and easy to use. It will revolutionize stringed musical instrument instruction by permitting a teacher to give more individualized instruction to each member of a student group. Each student will be able to learn at a rate commensurate with his innate ability, something heretofore available only through expensive private instruction or with the use of expensive and complex electronic equipment.
It is a common situation in schools at all levels to observe large groups of students gathered in one room to study music. When teaching groups of students to play a particular stringed instrument, it has previously been the practice to have the entire class play the same notes in unison or to have each member demonstrate his ability by playing alone while the rest of the group await their turn. This has been necessary to avoid the distraction and loss of concentration a student would experience were all students to play simultaneously at different pitches and tempos.
The traditional teaching methods using standard instruments force all to be taught at a uniform rate that is roughly commensurate with the ability of the average learner in the group.
This is because the workspace of music is usually confined to one large music room. However, each individual has a different aptitude for musical instruction. Moreover, each student learns at a varying rate of speed.
The present invention is directed toward this pedagogical problem. It isolates each student sufficiently for him to play his instrument simultaneously with the other students without the distraction that would normally be caused by the interference of the sound of the different instruments. It also allows each student to hear his own instrument at ordinary concert levels. Consequently, the students need not play at the same rate or even the same music. Moreover, the instructor can work with each individual in the group while the others are practicing thus giving the equivalent of individual instruction.
The most ideal teaching conditions occur when the apparatus is used in connection with a musical instrument whose sound output is capable of being damped without affecting its playing characteristics. There are a wide variety of possibilities in quieting stringed instruments. For example, guitar may be taught using a solid-body instrument having no resonating chamber like an electric guitar without its associated electronic equipment; or, the guitar body may simply comprise a solid piece of wood. Electric guitars are widely played without amplification during practice. The pitch of the notes is unaffected by this arrangement.
Moreover, guitars need not have a solid body. I have found that an open frame outlining the shape of the solid body and supporting its strings can be substituted for the solid body thereby eliminating vibrations within the solid body. This embodiment can be externally quieter than the solid-body version. However, like the solid-body instrument, the general playing characteristics remain unchanged. The open-frame design is applicable to all stringed instruments.
A similar effect could be obtained with an acoustical guitar by stuffing its resonating chamber with a soft, sound-absorbent material to dampen the sound output. This is clumsier. Obviously, this also can be done with any stringed instrument that uses a resonating chamber to amplify the sound of the strings.
Using the apparatus of this invention, the students learning on damped instruments can be seated closer together without being disturbed by neighboring instruments than students learning on undamped instruments while still hearing the music at normal output levels. This means that more students can be taught in a given music room. It is also easier on the instructor's ears and nerves if the instruments are damped. Use of the apparatus in connection with damped instruments is also ideal for a student who is practicing at home. It allows him to play the instrument without annoying other members of the household or neighbors.